About Louise Brooke - Textile Artist & Handmade Banners
About Louise Brooke
Louise Brooke is a textile artist, fuelled by a love of words. Louise makes bespoke banners and exhibits her own textile artwork.
A contemporary take on traditional banners, her practice evokes the rich heritage of women’s work.
Sewing for over 20 years and with a degree in Fashion Design, Louise also has 10 years professional experience in ecommerce and project management.
Life and career change
In 2025, Louise returned to textiles to support her wellbeing and help process her partner’s diagnosis with Becker Muscular Dystrophy (a progressive muscle-wasting condition).
The first handmade banner she created featured the Tom Waits’ lyric ‘You Can Never Hold Back Spring’ - a celebration of hope and inevitable renewal.
Words and stories
Louise has a deep love of meaningful words - song lyrics, poetry, the stories behind them and celebrating them as handmade banners.
The way words perfectly capture our feelings of love and joy, or offer solace during difficult times - feeling less alone knowing someone somewhere has felt the same way.
A love of fabric and light
Louise is inspired by the familiar and uniquely intimate relationship we have with fabric as a material, instinctively knowing how something will feel, its weight and texture.
She is particularly drawn to fabrics which interact with light - with a love of the light reflecting properties of velvet in rich heritage-inspired jewel colours and organza’s ability to cast shadows.
Celebrating vulnerability
Alongside making bespoke banners, Louise exhibits her textile-based artwork. Her practice is deeply empathetic - exploring lived or imagined perspectives and often involves scaling her intimate handwritten notes into celebrations of vulnerability.
Louise exhibits across the UK and is currently a member of The Collective Studio 25-26 at The NewBridge Project and NEEDLE North East Textile Artists.